The Journey of Rick Heiden

The Journey of Rick Heiden - Chapters 47 and 48

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This novel contains 50 CHAPTERS, and every post will have 2 chapters each.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Before David, I had unhealthy relationships. I suspect never having dated as a gay teenager as the cause, not because I didn't want to or even due to overprotective parents. I couldn't because I grew up a student in a rural county of the Southern United States.

Historically, my culture castigated gayness so severely that they made every effort to marginalize, harm, and hinder anyone lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. The extent of their ferocity reached record highs before the era that we forced them to content themselves with frowning, judging, and letting their god deal with us. For hundreds of years, the authorities of the age made our existence illegal. Anyone sentenced for this perceived crime--depending on where and when they lived--could expect jail time, the torture of hard labor in prison, castration, or even the death penalty, and that included the United States, the supposed land of the free. This caused hundreds of years of lives lived in the closet.

So, while the Age of Enlightenment and Humanism helped pull the teeth of religion, which lessened its homophobic rancor for a time --where they had an influence-- in parts of the world, little or nothing changed at all.

In my era and geographic locale, parents and churches encouraged teenagers to one day settle into a monogamous relationship, get married, and have a few kids. I wouldn't necessarily suggest that's unacceptable; however, it assumed that everyone's peg fit the same round hole. Their worldview had no room for nuance.

The community at large didn't provide LGBT people with encouragement; instead, they gave us the pressure to conform to their expectations regardless of the outcome, and upon failing that, struggle, suffering, and rejection. During my early life, I had a view of all the negativity and biased scrutiny gay people were given by the media. They slandered, libeled, and maligned us across television and newspapers for decades. I got years of an unendurable level of bullying in school, involving physical and emotional abuse because of my gayness. And lastly, I had a front-row seat witnessing the repercussions of a multitude of hellfire and damnation at the local churches. This left me paralyzed with fear, trapped in a closet, and with no practice at relationship building at all. No wonder my first relationships during my early twenties turned into such disasters.

In those early years, I instituted a personal policy of keeping potential suitors at a distance. I realize now that played into the desire of my culture that I should remain single and lonely. I did that with David, and lucky for me, he put up with it. Cadmar's presence in my life snuck up on me, and given our circumstances, it felt a little too late to make that attempt with him.

I won't say that in my mind, I remained entirely faithful to David; we cannot control the stray thoughts that run through our heads. And I didn't have enough life experience to understand what I wanted, or when it came to Cadmar and David, whether I loved either, neither, or both of them.

I was glad that Cadmar showed up. When we found David, I believed that if I could choose David in his presence without reticence, then I had made an honest choice. However, Cadmar's indomitable ability to wait would make that choice more complicated.

As I stood before him, my comfort level dropped, and I looked anywhere except at him. "Very well, I agree for you to stay." My eyes wandered the room. "Do you promise not to hug and kiss me as you did on the roof of the hospital?"

The fingers of his right hand gently guided my chin, tipping my head enough to make me look him in the eye. "I promise you, I will not."

I grabbed his hand, so warm to the touch. "You want to wear me down until I gave in, don't you?"

"No, I would never-"

I pushed his hand away. "I know you're waiting for me!"

He grew alarmed. "Rocke should not have told you that!"

"Do you understand how unfair that is?" I asked. "It would have been better if I didn't know. Now, if I choose David, it feels like a temporary choice regardless."

He stopped and tilted his head slightly. "Do you mean to say you want to be with me?"

"Did I just say that?"

"That's what it sounded like," he said.

"I don't know, Cadmar. You make the decision seem easy standing there like--" (like nothing else mattered). I took an uneasy breath and turned away so I couldn't see him. "--like I haven't promised myself to David."

My mobile rang; what a relief to think about something other than Cadmar. I rushed to where it lay on the bed and answered it. "Hello, Amanda. Just so you know, I have you on speakerphone in the penthouse with Captain Cadmar of the SJS Offenbach. Is that okay?"

"Yes, that's fine," she said. "Hello, Captain Cadmar.

"Hello, again, Ms. Newton," he said.

"You're welcome to call me Amanda," she said. "Is the Offenbach with you?"

"It's in orbit."

"Okay, good," she said, "just establishing who has what and where they are. I would appreciate it if you would try to keep the use of it inside our airspace at a minimum."

"I can do that," he said.

"Thank you. Can I expect any other ships through the portal?"

I looked at Cadmar. "I shouldn't think so."

"Good to know," said Amanda. "O'Byrne is in the alps."

"Which alps, the Swiss?" I asked.

"No, the Dolomites, in the little village of Cimolais, Italy. I'll text you the address. Consider me not available unless you have information about David. I'm leaving now to join my family at St. Pancras station. Be careful and good luck."

"Have a good time with your family."

The instant we rang off, she texted me the address in question, and I looked it up. "Yep, it's a pretty little village."

"Is it? Let me see." I handed him the mobile. "Everyone will see the Berlioz when it lands."

"At this time of day?" I asked. "No, by the time we get there, we should have enough darkness. The sun sets fairly early this time of year."

"Do you intend to leave now?"

"Yep. Attendant...bring the ship to the balcony outside--don't land, just hover--and then open the hatches, please. Captain Cadmar, do you have everything you need?"

He looked me in the eye. "I do now."

I stared at him and with no hint of a smile. "You do know not to do that in front of David, right?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't do that."

"No, you shouldn't. See this face? It's my work-face." I took a deep breath. "Look, I don't know what I want, but I do know this. You're a nice guy, Cadmar; I like you a lot. And through no conscious choice of my own, I've discovered you're a phenomenally good lover, but I need more than that. If you want to impress me, you're going to have to work for it, and I have news for you, David's way ahead of you. So, you're probably waiting for nothing. Now, let's move this balcony furniture, the Berlioz will arrive in half an hour."

From the balcony, we saw the sun peek for a split second from beneath the clouds on the far western horizon. That meant the temperature would begin to drop. We moved the furniture, used the facilities, and readied ourselves for the ship. We sat waiting on two chairs at the side of the balcony for a few minutes.

Cadmar said nothing to me since I told him what I had, but I knew he was thinking. Once he had prepared himself for what he would say, he let me know.

"I wish Rocke hadn't told you that I would wait because I never intended to tell you. I planned to wait in silence.

"I shouldn't have done that on the hospital roof, I apologize. But I won't lie to you, I don't regret what happened between us that night. I see it as a beautiful accident, and if nothing again occurs, I will learn to live with that.

"And I deserved what you said to me earlier," he said. "I appreciate how strong and capable you've become. I admire your perseverance and determination, and I cherish the privilege of knowing you before you found your footing. I see you as exceptional, and David as lucky to have you."

"I'm not exceptional," I said. "I'm just trying to catch up to where I think I would be if life hadn't knocked me down long ago. And I forgive you. Let's move on and see what happens."

"You genuinely think yourself common, don't you? You lived as a professional interpreter, where does that fit into your life now?"

I shrugged. "I did what I could do at the time to make money. I still have my interpreter skills, but I have a responsibility to myself and to the people I care about to be more."

"But not everyone discovers they can be more," said Cadmar, "and of those that do, few of them try, and even fewer succeed. That makes you exceptional."

I thought about what Cadmar said. When I lived in the American South, I would hear, 'don't get above your raisin''. It's an unfair, hackneyed expression designed to hold people back. My family never used it, and my parents wanted me to do better than they did, but families like ours were not the only kind. I witnessed a lot of reverse-snobbery, and I knew someone his family had rejected because he went to college. Those petty jealousies, woven into the cultures of Earth, have links to money and class conflict. Whether they deem someone 'above their raisin'' or a 'sellout', people hold back others of their own group and socioeconomic status or shame those people who have improved their lot through what the Filipinos called Crab Mentality. "If I can't have it, then neither can you." David would have pointed to it as one of Earth's many progress impeding mechanisms.

The Berlioz arrived, hovering over the balcony. We climbed aboard and stowed our gear, remembering to retrieve our wrist lights.

As we settled into the cockpit, Cadmar turned to me. "Just so you know, as far as I'm concerned, you're always in charge."

"Do you never want to take charge?"

"In an emergency, I can, but there's only one place I prefer to take charge, and you know where that is. Besides, I know far less about this planet than you. Will you fly us directly to the address?"

I sat there for a second, trying to catch up with everything he had just said to me, and I chose to ignore the innuendo. "No...no, I think I saw a good spot on the map."

I set the navigation for our destination, and we made lift-off. It would take no time at all to get to the village as the crow flies (if a crow could fly at Mach 10). The time zones created an hour difference between London and Cimolais, so when we arrived, the sun had already set, but the sky had yet to reach pure darkness, and the snow covering the ground reflected the little light that remained.

I had the screens on night vision so we could make out details.

"What's that mound and little building?" asked Cadmar. "That looks like a good spot."

"If I'm not mistaken, that's part of a methane gas well."

The building, not much larger than a garden shed, proved adequate to conceal the ship from the village. Its security light allowed us to see around the Berlioz when we climbed out.

My wrist light illuminated tracks in the snow next to the ship.

I took in the view. I couldn't see much, except the village lights in the distance about half a kilometer away. An internet photo of the area showed that most of the valley was as flat as a lake, the points of the surrounding craggy mountains jutted from it with hardly a foothill, and they seemed so close one could reach out to touch them. I would have loved to have seen it during the day.

I stood looking at the image on my mobile to get my bearings. "I see why O'Byrne picked this place to live. It's lovely."

A snowball struck the side of my head.

"What are you doing?" I wiped the snow from my face. Unfortunately, some of it slipped beneath my shirt collar. "We don't have time for this."

He hurried around to my side of the ship. "Why not? You took the time to admire this place, and I used the same amount of time to make a snowball. Look at this stuff!" He held out his bare hands full of snow, it glistened in the light of the security lamp.

"It's just snow," I said. "I take it this is your first time."

"Oh!" Cadmar threw down the snow, dried his hands on his pants, and tucked them into his jacket under his arms.

He had me laughing.

"Okay," he said, "that fun lasted about a minute. Snow is surprisingly cold. I'm accustomed to a more tropical climate. Why are you laughing? Is it because I'm acting like a big kid playing in the snow?" He beamed a smile at me.

"On the contrary," I said, "for your first time seeing snow, it took you 60 seconds to discover that snow, in of itself, is not all that interesting. I think that's an adult realization. Let's see if David's here."

I began walking toward the village with Cadmar beside me. I recalled the number of times that David and I had strolled together chatting and that night in Venice when we held hands on the way to meet the Rabbi. I suddenly had an odd sensation. When I looked over at Cadmar for a moment, I could barely see his face, but I expected to see David, yet Cadmar tromping along beside me didn't feel wrong, merely different. I decided I should discuss something rather than continue ruminating, and it led to an unusual interaction.

"May I ask you something personal?"

"Sure," he said.

"Why have you stopped wearing your Trust uniform?"

He thought about it for a moment. "One could say I'm on sabbatical from the Trust."

"Is this due to blaming yourself for not looking both ways before crossing the street in London?"

"No," said Cadmar. "I'm... I'm not sure this conversation is a good idea."

A thought suddenly came to me. I stopped on the road as we stood by the entrance to the local walled cemetery, and Cadmar stopped when I did. I pointed my wrist light at his jacket, his face in shadow. "You intended to remain on sabbatical for as long as you would wait for me, didn't you? Why would you do that?"

"You're the one reading me," he said, "you tell me."

It only took a moment, and I felt my eyes welling up. "You love me that much."

He brought his face before mine, his eyes shiny and wet. "This," he said, "we do not have time for. I do not want your knowledge of my feelings to undermine the loyalty you have for your mate. Let's find David. Nothing else matters right now. So, please, put your work face back on, and let's do this. Okay?"

I nodded and sniffled. "Right."

For a strange moment, I couldn't tell if the tears welling in my eyes were mine or if they were Cadmar's, and the implications of that frightened me a little. That had never happened before, not like that, and I wondered if the Prime Sharer enhancement had more to it than I realized. I tamped that down for the moment, took a deep breath, and concentrated on the task at hand. I began walking again. "Attendant...activate Bright-Eyes."

I heard in my ears, through a local connection to my communication enhancement, a voice close to the subvocal range, the word "test."

"I can hear you," I said.

Venn devised Bright-Eyes as a means of protection. The Berlioz had no armaments but would protect its occupants rather well. Away from that protection, they had only the weapons they carried. So, Venn employed a few defenses to help protect the captain, so the captain could protect any passengers. Bright-Eyes extended the focus of the Attendant to more than the captain's needs and commands. It utilized its observation abilities to provide vital information about who and what lay beyond the captain's vantage point. While on Jiyu, the mode went through minor testing, so its effectiveness in a real scenario remained unknown.

"I heard about Bright-Eyes," said Cadmar. "Venn is incredibly innovative. I wish I had that one."

"It's experimental, so let's bloody hope it works."

The streetlights illuminated our surroundings well enough at the main road that we could switch off our wrist lights. We passed the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, where the hardscaped roadway lay exposed, and to the paved area beyond. On both sides of the road, fully restored homes lay connected alongside others in various levels of dilapidation as often occurs in Italian villages. Through the winding streets, we eventually found the right address. O'Byrne had an alpine villa in a secluded spot toward the back of Cimolais as it neared the mountains.

We climbed the steps of the covered stoop and knocked the snow that caked our boots onto the large black rubber mat intended for such use. The noises attracted the attention of a man who came to the door. We could see one another in the exterior lighting. He appeared to be thirty-five, handsome, clean-shaven with dark hair. He stood with his face, which held an unsmiling look of astonishment, in little more than a crevice of the opened entryway.

"Posso aiutarla? (May I help you?)," said the man.

I didn't speak fluent Italian, but I knew enough to get my point across. "Se questa e la villa di Clement O'Byrne, allora sto cercando David Levitt (If this is the villa of Clement O'Byrne, then I'm looking for David Levitt)."

His eyebrows rose slightly. He invited us into the warmer foyer area.

"Uno momento (One moment)." Suspicious, he watched us until he turned the corner.

The inside of the home had white walls and wood trim. The high vaulted ceiling with its finished wood beams gave the atmosphere a more chalet-like feel in the spacious foyer, which included a gas fireplace with a seating area. I noticed that a tiny CCTV camera stared at us from the corner before us.

The man returned. "Capitano (Captain)." He gestured that we should follow him.

Getting recognized always seemed strange, and he already knew to call me captain.

He brought us through the building and out the back. It alarmed me until I saw the enormous, covered veranda, and before us, just out from under the roofline, sat an in-ground mineral spa with creamy blue water. It didn't bubble, but in the light, I saw vapor rising into the freezing air. An enormous television on the wall showed the view from the front door camera split-screened with an internet website about Jiyu with a photo of me taken by George in the lobby earlier and a short biography.

Two attractive women in their early 30s and a man in his 60s were soaking in the heated spa, sans clothing, like Japanese macaques in a hot spring. The man kept himself shaven with gray hair and his arms around the shoulders of the two women. He gestured that I should come closer; standing a foot from the spa, I squatted so as not to tower over them. The man who guided us there remained standing behind Cadmar to the left. "Male, holstered weapon, 4 meters, 220º," according to the Attendant.

"Captain Heiden," said the man in the spa, "mate to David Levitt."

"Clement O'Byrne," I said, "also known as Lefty Handler."

He shook his head. "Lefty's dead."

"Uh-huh. And you've been keeping an eye on the website about us, I see."

"We're not the only ones," he said. "It's been up a month and has nearly four billion hits. So, you're looking for David too. He didn't show this morning, but you'll do."

"Do for what? Why would David come here?"

"I invited him. I have information to give him."

"Why would David trust you?"

"Because like your humble self," he said, "I, along with these two lovely ladies, Nicola, and the rest of my entourage, live in exile of the United States."

"Why would they exile you? Are they cleaning house?"

"You know of that?" he asked.

"I do now, should I know more?"

"Oh yes," he said. "Get in, we'll talk."

I glanced down into the spa. It seemed clean if the rim indicated any level of cleanliness.

"I'd rather not," I said.

"I insist." His eyes glanced at the wooden bench on the rug a few meters from the tub, indicating he brooked no argument. "Don't worry, your fellow Jiyuvian, Cadmar, can look after your clothes and weapons. I hope you noticed I didn't have Nicola frisk you, so get in."

"Why?"

"Because Elena is curious to know if the rumors are true, and I promised she could see you naked. You wouldn't want me to break my promise, would you?"

The woman to his right that he referred to as Elena had a smirk on her face.

"If it will make you feel better," said O'Byrne. He indicated to Nicola that he could go, and he did.

David said he had information that he would want to know. If he insisted that I play his game to get it, he hadn't asked too much. I looked at Cadmar, and he nodded, indicating that he would keep watch, and he moved to a better position to do so. I kept my pistols beneath my clothes when I undressed. The outdoor air had sub-freezing temperatures by then. I knew what she wanted to know. Apparently, a crew member of the Torekka Maru spoke about us; I couldn't imagine how anyone else knew. Fortunately, I have little shrinkage, but I didn't want to stand about naked. I walked to the spa surround, standing on the steps to get down into the tub, I asked Elena, "Sei saddisfatto? (Are you satisfied?)"

"Malto bello, me dovresti essere piu simile a lui (Very nice, but you should be more like him)." She indicated O'Byrne beside her, and both women laughed.

Smiling, O'Byrne looked at Elena. "E possibile, giusto (That's possible, right)?"

"Si (Yes)," she said.

I gazed at Cadmar, who watched me as I stepped down into the water. It was a hot mineral bath. The temperature felt good on my skin. "Won't you introduce me to your friends?"

Both women ensured they hadn't gotten their hair wet. The brunette woman to his left, I could tell, came from Chicago by her accent. The raven-haired one he called Elena, came from Italy but spoke English well.

"Where are my manners?" asked O'Byrne. "This lovely one to my left is Louisa Dellucci, a fourth-generation American, and this one to my right is Contessa Elena Lombardi."

"I take it you all know us," I said, gesturing to the monitor.

"Is everything on the website accurate?" asked Louisa.

"I don't know, I've not seen it."

"You should," said O'Byrne. "There's nothing like misinformation to soil one's otherwise spotless reputation, misrepresenting you to the public."

"You would know about that?"

"In a way, I wouldn't want anyone out in the world to realize I'm a nice guy. I worked hard to create my reputation."

"So, you're a nice guy."

"Mmm...based on Jiyuvian standards? No. No, the truth is, I am merely a businessman, and business can sometimes be quite harsh."

"So, when you have someone killed," I said, "that's just business."

"Naturally," he said. "No one died indiscriminately. I picked the deals I took, no different than any other businessman."

"So, you made a business deal to have me abducted."

O'Byrne's face tightened in disgust. "Ugh, that ham-fisted plumber again! He had no authorization to do what he did. As a new man to the company, he wanted to impress me. If David hadn't killed him, I would have, but I don't do that anymore." He assured me. "As I said, Lefty is dead."

"I see. Well, you got what you wanted, I'm in the tub. What information did you want to give me?"

"Ladies, as much as I hate to ask you to go, I am afraid I must. It's time for personal business."

As they rose to leave, Elena pretended to lose her balance and fell in my direction, whispering "help me" into my ear. She tried to catch her fall by laying hands on me. "Mi dispiace. Cosi imbarazzante (I'm sorry. So embarrassing)," she said.

O'Byrne watched every moment of their departure. When they had gone through the door, he spoke up, "How can you sit there and not find them enticing?"

Unconsciously, I glanced at Cadmar, but O'Byrne noticed and glanced at Cadmar also. It put me on my guard that he proved far more astute and observant than I realized. I focused on giving him nothing else.

"Really," he said, "and mated to David too." He shook his head and clicked his tongue at me.

"I'll thank you to keep your unwarranted disapproval to yourself." I thumbed over my shoulder at everything behind me, the village, the house, and the two women who left. "You seem to have a fascination for things Italian."

"I grew up with an Irish father and an Italian mother," he said. "She came from the DeLuca family. If I have a choice between the two cultures, I'll take Italy. Nothing against the Irish; I simply prefer a more relaxed Italian atmosphere."

I merely nodded.

"So, getting to business," he said, "I suggest we make this an exchange of information."

I looked at him askance.

He put out an allaying hand. "I think I ask for no information you would be unwilling to part with. I just want to hear it from someone who actually knows."

"What would you like to know?"

"We all have the Foundational Enhancement, and I have a copy of a device people will find available for purchase on the dark web, but I'm a bit distrustful of it. However, I find what it promises too alluring not to consider. If what I know of you is true, you won't lie to me. So, I make this proposal, if you tell me what I want to know, during any conversation we have while you're here, I will tell you nothing but the truth as I know it."

"Wow. Of all things, I didn't think you would ask me that," I said. For the second time that day, someone inquired about it. "I would usually have a reticence to provide information to someone about an NPD, but you already have one."

He nodded. "Given what this NPD can do, I understand your caution."

"I agree to your terms," I said. "You should feel wary of it. An original is an astonishing but dangerous device. What a copy may lack in astonishment, it could more than make up for in dangerousness. Did you have it made, or did you buy it from someone?"

"I had it made by a professional craftsman," he said. "Louisa did it. She's beautiful and brilliant."

"I see. I assume you've at least checked it over."

He nodded. "She had the original plans and an enormous, compressed file."

Amare told me they wouldn't have difficulty reverse-engineering the device. I would have thought the task too complicated to duplicate the thing entirely unless the device had ancient technology by Jiyuvian standards.

"Did you have any particular enhancement in mind?" I asked.

"Would the Youth Enhancement make me young again?" he asked.

That would be the one, wouldn't it?

"A clinician on Jiyu told me that it doesn't work well the older you get. Those were her words. She didn't enlighten me as to what that meant because the problem didn't apply to me. I'm only 30."

"Doesn't work well in a bad way," he said, "or simply a disappointing way."

"I think if it caused serious harm, she would have said so. People on Jiyu typically say what they mean. I got the impression they had used it in the past on older people, but it either didn't work or worked in a way they didn't expect. Also, the older you are, the longer it takes to complete its programming. David's 15-year reduction will take one Jiyuvian year to complete. That's all I know about that enhancement. And bear in mind that I'm referring to using an original device, not a copy. I don't know what yours will do." I looked up at Cadmar, who stood by keeping watch. "What do you know of the youth enhancement?"

"I understood that it can only reduce your age by a maximum of 15 years," he said, "regardless of how many years have passed beyond maturity. That's why they instituted the 40-year cut-off long before I was born."

"Okay," I said. "Well, how old are you now?"

"I'm 62, so I would be 47 until I die. I'll take it." He reached for a small two-way radio lying on the deck of the tub. He spoke into it, "Louisa, get ready to do it."

"Do what?" I asked.

"I'm going ahead with the Youth Enhancement, no time to lose."

"I would question the safety of that machine," I said. "You don't even know if it works."

"Oh, it works."

He stood up to get out, and that's when I saw that he had already enhanced himself...considerably more than even Cadmar.

"Come along, Captain Heiden. I have things to tell you.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

As we emerged from the heated pool, the icy outdoor air caused water vapor to emanate from our skin, glowing in the light from above. O'Byrne spoke as we dried off, and I realized that I erroneously believed that I equinized myself, but only because I had yet to see O'Byrne. I was quite big, Cadmar was acceptably bigger, but I would never have chosen to alter myself to the degree O'Byrne had. However, I recognized that he should have the freedom to do that if he wanted. It wasn't my body, and I was grateful it wasn't. Cadmar showed no sign of surprise.

"The American government is attempting damage control," said O'Byrne. "They have spread misinformation to the American people that Jiyu has corrupted and mislead the world and that they should protect American jobs, commerce, and the freedoms they enjoy. They have spread lies that the Foundational Enhancement is dangerous and that the government may begin treating it as a contaminate that needs eradicating. That was the word they used. So far, they've used propaganda to deter as many people as they could from seeking it out and dropped rumors that they will incarcerate or deport anyone with it, and that's worked to a great extent; if there's one thing that the American Government does well, it's to always provide the people they wish to control with something to lose. They've convinced most Americans that they live in the best country with the most freedom on this planet, and the threat of losing their freedom is enough to frighten most people into compliance. It's a little trick they picked up from the Catholic Church; ex-communication is a serious fear."

We finished drying off, and I began dressing. He donned the robe from the wall hook and waited for me to get my boots on before leaving the veranda. Cadmar carried my coat and pistol harness.

Tucking my shirt into my pants, we followed him into the house and down the hall to the last suite. It had a king-sized bed and a sitting area with a gas fireplace. Nicola stood to the side, while a fully dressed Elena and Louisa busied themselves setting up a machine. Neither as compact nor as elegant as the original, their NPD had the size and shape of a small toaster.

"How do you know all that?" I asked.

O'Byrne sat in a chair, while Louisa programmed the device. "I know this because they came to me --as they often did-- in search of assassins to eliminate Jiyuvians and other troublemakers, telling me enough of their plan to alarm me. They knew we had already acquired the enhancement, so they tried to dictate terms. I wouldn't let them control me, so we left them in the lurch. Now, they'll use Phalin mercenaries to hunt Jiyuvians and other people down, including us because we know too much. They'll botch the job, probably. You don't send a demolition man to do the job of a surgeon.

Louisa came to him. "Are you ready?"

He nodded. She placed the large device against his abdomen just beneath his heart and pressed the initiate button. It took about ten seconds to transfer the data, and their version would alert you when it had finished.

He breathed a satisfied sigh and smiled. "I like being enhanced. I feel better than I have in years." He looked up at me. "I apologize for Roberts kidnapping you. I should never have hired him. He tarnished my otherwise sterling reputation for excellence."

"No permanent harm done," I said, "to me, anyway. What about this meeting you were to have with David? We've discussed nothing the two of you couldn't have dealt with over the phone. Why did he need to come here?"

He grew uncomfortable and glanced up at me with a tip of his head. "I said I would tell you the truth." He showed reluctance at doing something so against his nature. "You're not going to like this, and I'm sorry for that too. I was bringing David here to trap him."

"Why?" I asked scowling.

"You have your people," he said, "I have mine, and they count on me. Jackson Scott called me with a deal, he said if I gave him David, he promised to overlook us, just as he would a select group of elites the world over. He said that the Foundational Enhancement is only an economic problem if everyone has it, so they're not after everyone with it."

"You idiot!" I shouted. "We're riding in the same boat; you need us! And if Jackson told you that he would leave you alone, don't believe him. He will lie to get what he wants."

"I had to try," he said.

"On the journey here, David took a train to Paris from London, and on the way, he vanished."

"Jackson Scott's men must have caught him," he said.

"Maybe, and they will come after you and your entourage anyway."

O'Byrne, with a blank stare, sat there thinking for a moment. "Nicola, Louisa, Elena, would you excuse us."

Nicola and Elena left, but Louisa put her device into its case and took it with her. As she proceeded to exit, she looked back at O'Byrne for a moment.

He nodded at her. "I understand."

And with that, she left.

"What will they do with David?" I asked him.

O'Byrne tightened his robe. "If they haven't killed him, they will when they're through with him. I know I'm a bad man, but my misdeeds are nothing compared to the villainy of truly powerful people, especially when they fear to lose their power."

"What will you and your entourage do?" asked Cadmar.

O'Byrne looked at him. "Most of them left to visit family near Vittorio Veneto, but I've doubted they will return. The others will abandon me now. They knew that giving David to Jackson was my last option."

"And you?" I asked.

"They won't bother asking me questions, they already know what I know. So, I can wait here and let them kill me, I can beat them to it and shoot myself, or I can go into hiding. With the world we live in, cameras in every city, facial recognition software, and the level of tracking available to them, that option would have a dubious possibility of long-term success. I would have to live somewhere few people would want to live or away from all civilization."

"Plenty of beautiful places like that exist on this planet," I said.

"People have a holiday in those places," he said, "they don't live there."

I considered what he had said for a moment and took a deep irritable breath. "How much do you weigh?" I asked him.

"172 pounds, why?"

"Okay, I can do that," I said. I took one of my pistols from the harness that Cadmar carried and stunned O'Byrne before he could even open his mouth to object. He slumped in his chair.

"I figured you would stun him," said Cadmar. "Why wouldn't he just ask for our help?"

"He knows what he's done. He couldn't possibly have a glimmer of hope we would help him."

"Why are we helping him?" asked Cadmar.

I sighed. "I don't know."

"David could be dead because of him."

"No, I don't think so. David was already on Jackson's hit list. O'Byrne was just an easily manipulated tool. Whatever has happened to David, if Jackson is involved, then it's Jackson's fault."

"He would have given David to Jackson to save his own skin."

"Not just his own. He said he had people who were counting on him; he has a sense of loyalty. Perhaps, he could channel that into something --I don't know-- worthy."

"He has killed people and had people killed," said Cadmar. "He's not worthy of your attempt to redeem him."

"Oh, I'm not going to redeem him. He's going to redeem himself."

"And if he doesn't want redemption?"

I looked him in the eye. "Wasn't it you who told the captain of the HMS Bailiwick that if they hadn't destroyed themselves utterly, there was always the possibility of change?"

"I would suggest that altruism has its limits," said Cadmar.

I stood there thinking, and my heart blinded me. I knew that any redemption on his part must come through his own effort. The sound of his voice, the look on his face, and my excessive sense of empathy called me to rescue him. I understood what David felt when he said to me once, "I'm here. I feel I should help..." But unlike David's situation, this wasn't about helping an unknown number of good people on Earth. This was about rescuing one bad man. "Give me your best reason why I shouldn't pick him up and take him with us."

"Okay," said Cadmar, "give me a moment."

Taking the time to think about it, he used the opportunity to put my pistol harness over my shoulders and latch them to the belt on my trousers. He then held out the coat for me to slip into, which I did.

He said, "You shouldn't pick him up and take him with us because you are making choices for him. If our way is the right one --and I believe it is-- then you will leave him to figure a way out of his mess on his own. I admire your empathy, but we are our own arbiters of what it means to be good, he knows this, and he admits he is not a good man. We should go, they will be coming for him. We do not want to give them the ability to kill us in the process."

"Attendant," I said, "bring the ship to the front of the building and land in the clearing."

We left the room and searched for the foyer. Elena had waited there, holding the case Louisa carried. She rushed to me.

Cadmar and I pulled a pistol. "Who are you?" I asked.

"Nice to meet you, finally," she said to me with a perfect English accent. She slowly pushed the point of my pistol aside. "I'm Elena Lombardi, second-generation British and MI6." She smiled.

"MI6. What got you hooked up to these people?" I asked.

"This device," she said.

"Louisa had that," said Cadmar, "surely she didn't just hand it over."

"I can be quite persuasive." She showed us a bloody knuckle. "Where's O'Byrne?"

"I stunned him. He'll be out for another ten minutes or so. Where's Nicola?"

"He left in his vehicle before Louisa did, and she was my ride. I need to return to London. Going my way, captain? How did you get here, anyway? There's no other vehicle outside."

"A different route," I said, "and since the British Government know of the Berlioz, I don't mind if you do. However, I will not have an MI6 agent looking about inside. So, I will give you two choices. You cover your eyes with my scarf before getting in, or I stun you."

She thought about it for a split second. "I choose the scarf. Let's go."

"Wait. Why would you take that?" I asked, indicating the case.

"It's dangerous to leave it," she said.

"Only to enhanced people, and Louisa can just build another one," I said.

"True," she said hesitating.

"If you know you can't stop her from making another," I said, "and you're taking her device, rather than destroying it, why shouldn't I view this as the British Government merely wanting a device of their own?"

"I assure you that is not the case," she said.

I began resetting one of my pistols for a magnetic pulse.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Just ensuring it doesn't harm anyone," I said.

"No, don't-"

I shot it, rendering it junk. "There, now if what you said was true, that won't upset you, will it?"

She snarled at me, dropping the case at her feet. She balled her fist in anger, and I didn't think she would, but she tried to punch me in the face, which I dodged thanks to Magnar's training.

"You want to walk home, don't you?" I asked.

"I spent weeks with them! Hell, I even slept with O'Byrne, so he would trust me! With one shot, you turned all that work into a wasted effort!"

"You slept with O'Byrne? That must have been an experience. I apologize. I didn't know the effort and trouble you had gone to, but we must share Jiyuvian technology over time with the people of Earth. Few of you are ready for it."

"I understand that--"

"Stop!" shouted Cadmar. "I encourage you both to have this out in a civilized manner, but we should leave." Cadmar made for the door.

Elena pointed at me. "This isn't over."

I removed my scarf, preparing to tie it around her head.

"Is this absolutely necessary?" she asked.

I began binding her head. "It's a small price for a ticket home. If you attempt to remove it or see around it in any manner, I will open the hatch and shove you out."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"I hold no authority to threaten you with prison, fines, and forfeiture, so unless you wish to find yourself face down in a snowdrift on a mountaintop, don't peek."

"Aye aye, captain," she said in derision.

The ship had already arrived, and Cadmar checked the area for dangers.

"I know you barely know me," I said to Elena, "you might even hate me, but I want you to know that you can trust me."

I assisted Elena off the steps and the few paces through the snow to the ship. The wind whipping around the building made me notice that I had done a poor job of drying myself earlier.

"So," I said, "why did you pretend to fall in the spa?"

"I didn't pretend to fall," she said. "I made myself fall, to whisper a plea for your help."

"Your hands told me you wanted more than my help," I said.

"I merely tried to catch myself," she said.

"And you wanted to see me naked because..."

"Because I hoped that if I maneuvered O'Byrne into getting you into the spa, I could make myself fall at some point and whisper a plea for your help."

"That's a tad contrived, but I'll let it slide."

On the way to the ship, I opened the hatches with a hand gesture built into the Bright Eyes mode, and Cadmar climbed in.

"I didn't see anyone else in the area," he said.

I had Elena knock the snow off her boots before she climbed in, and when she sat down, I closed the hatches. I buckled her into the jumpseat with my scarf wrapped around her head, pulling the restraint straps.

"Have I tightened these too much?" I asked. "Are you comfortable?"

"They're fine," she said, and as I started to move to the cockpit, she grabbed my jacket. "I apologize for trying to punch you."

"It looked like quite a punch," I said, "but no harm done. Brace yourself, we're going to gain some altitude, okay?"

I climbed into the cockpit, sat down, locked in, and we made liftoff.

Elena gave me no reason to decompress the cabin and toss her out. Despite her evident curiosity, she didn't peek. I know, because I had the Attendant keep an eye on her, giving me a view of the cabin on the screen.

We flew back to London at Mach 10, dropped down to the hotel, and hovered over the balcony.

I opened the hatch.

"I haven't peeked, I promise!" she exclaimed.

"Relax, we're in London," said Cadmar.

"We've reached London, already?" asked Elena.

"Should that surprise you?" I asked.

"We haven't flown more than seven or eight minutes," she said.

"Six minutes and fifty-five seconds if you must know," I said, removing my bag from stowage, "including take-off and landing."

"But I barely felt the acceleration and deceleration, how did you do that?"

"I haven't read any Jiyuvian treatise on inertia," I said, "so I couldn't tell you."

When I got her out of the ship and closed the hatches, she pulled my scarf down around her neck.

It was just after eight o'clock at night, and the outdoor lighting lit the ship beautifully if I do say so. After the initial reaction, which began to get tedious (One can only hear "Wow!" so many times before it becomes commonplace), she came to the rest of our conversation that our circumstance had placed on hold.

"We needed the device as part of a balance-of-power," she said. "Just like nuclear weapons, it's not good for only one country to have them. This world isn't Jiyu; we don't have one people. We have tribalism, and without the mechanisms that keep us from destroying one another, this world will turn to chaos."

"Yes, I know," I said to Elena, "I've lived here most of my life, so point taken. I don't know what David would say about this, and I won't keep reiterating what I've already told you, but don't trust second-hand technology. That one could have been dangerous. This isn't the Cold War era, don't go endangering yourself stealing your neighbor's things or hacking someone's electronics or whatever it is that MI6 does these days. You could have gotten yourself killed. You only had to come to us."

"We did," she said.

I knew David's usual reaction to such a request. "And he turned you down. Why?"

"I think that happened within a day of his arrival here," she said. "It probably just seemed like the thing to do."

Cadmar spoke up. "Denying you that technology doesn't make things better here."

She nodded. "It only makes it better for the Americans who already have it."

"I will speak to someone in the British Government," I said, "we'll discuss getting them our plans for one. Will you tell that to the head of MI6 for me?"

She laughed. "Ah, no. He's a few steps above my paygrade. I will tell my boss, though." She held out her hand for me to shake. "Thank you for this."

"You're welcome," I said, shaking her hand. "So, O'Byrne hadn't lied to me about David?"

She shook her head. "No, he hadn't lied. We waited all day."

"He really has vanished then," I said. "What do you think of O'Byrne?"

She shrugged. "He's a bit of a contradiction, really. He's a bad man, who has done terrible things, but then he can turn around and surprise you at just how kind he can be."

"You've had sex with O'Byrne," I said. "Surely, you know of your pheromonal connection to him. Are you sure this isn't just the pheromones talking?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" She smiled. "My loyalty is to queen and country. I admit, though, ever since I got ironed out, I've felt a little strange, and I hope it hasn't compromised me."

"Your connection to O'Byrne will go dormant if you stay away from him for a few months."

"I'm glad to hear that," she said, "but that doesn't explain how I'm feeling right now, though." She stared at me for a long moment.

I began adjusting the scarf around her neck. "Let's fix this. This looks good on you; you should keep it. It's a genuine Jiyuvian scarf, and I have it on good authority that it's worth a small fortune here. So, unless you want someone to steal it and sell it on the black market, I wouldn't tell anyone where you got it."

"It has a beautiful weave, would you part with it?"

"I can always get another one back home. However, if you think it will cause separation anxiety, you're welcome to wear it and come visit me on occasion."

She smiled and nodded a little. "I may just do that, thank you, and thank you for bringing me home. I probably should go." --We began to walk toward the interior of the hotel room when she turned to me-- "And check out that website. Wouldn't want people lying about you."

"I'll consider it." I stopped just inside the balcony door.

She continued to the main door of the penthouse and turned just before she left. "By the way," she said, "I know you wouldn't have tossed me out of the ship no matter what I did."

"Well, don't tell anyone," I said. "I don't want people thinking I'm a pushover."

She laughed and closed the door to wait for the lift. Cadmar startled me when he came up beside me.

"There you are," I said.

"She's enamored over you, isn't she?" he asked.

"It's just my pheromones clinging to the scarf. Now I see why David has such a problem with Amanda. It must happen more often than I've realized. Elena's connection to me won't go dormant, will it?"

I saw Cadmar staring at me from the corner of my eye. "No matter how long you're apart, the natural ones never go dormant. I'm sorry we didn't find David."

"Me too. Where-the-hell is he, Cadmar?"

I contacted Amanda on speakerphone. I caught her having a late dinner with her ex-husband. I let her know that O'Byrne had David set up, but he never showed at the villa and that Jiyuvians, as well as other troublemaking enhanced people, had become targets. She was not happy.

"You're in the penthouse," she said, "you probably shouldn't stay there."

"Most likely not," I said, "and before you mention the phrase `safe house', I should tell you that we'll decline that sort of protection."

"You do need our help," she said.

"Perhaps, but if David should show up, I don't want to be elsewhere."

"I understand. David is smart," she said. "He can take care of himself."

"Maybe he's just in hiding," I said.

"Maybe. I have news for you. Salvatore Greco, with his wife and six-year-old daughter, has requested asylum in the UK earlier today."

"Really? And how did this occur?"

"His family has been here since yesterday, and his wife booked him a non-stop flight from Tokyo to London. His family met him at Heathrow, and he requested asylum for the three of them on arrival just after one o'clock today."

"Is it possible for me to talk to him and his family?" I asked.

"I knew you would want that. I have an interview scheduled for tomorrow morning."

"Where do you have them?

"The wife and daughter are in temporary housing," she said. "Salvatore is in custody."

"Do you have a reason to hold him in custody?"

"Only for questioning," she said.

"Oh no, please don't do that," I said. "If he just arrived from Japan today, then Gabriel must have lied to me, and I wouldn't want Sal treated that way. He's been through enough. Send the three of them to our hotel, I'll have a room waiting for them, and I take full responsibility."

Cadmar sat in the chair by the bed, watching me with a little smile on his face.

"Are you sure about this?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, I'm sure, and I no longer suspect him in David's disappearance. Please, don't hold him. Oh, and as for asylum, if I'm right, that won't be necessary; they'll be coming with us."

"Okay," she said, "so he and his family are provisionally under Jiyuvian protection. I hope you know what you're doing."

"I promise to relay to you anything of importance that he tells me."

"Relay it to Mr. Haywood," she said. "I can get caught up on Monday when I return. I just want to concentrate on my family this weekend, but I appreciate your letting me know what you've discovered."

She told me she could have them at the hotel in an hour. The instant we ended the call, I contacted Simon, the new night manager, at the front desk on the internal line requesting an extra room with two beds. They hadn't booked the hotel solid. I asked him to give me the nicest one they had, then send the key up with four orders of Indian spiced chicken and curried vegetables with brown rice.

I hung the phone back onto the hook and looked over at Cadmar. "We haven't eaten, so I'm sure you're-- Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"I love being with you," he said. "You are kind, decisive, and you listen."

"I'm glad you're here; I would have made a terrible mistake back there. Coming alone was a stupid idea."

"I know you can defend yourself, but I'm here for you in whatever way you need me."

"I appreciate that," I said. "I bloody hope I can defend myself. Thanks to the memory enhancement, that came much easier than I thought. It took less training and practice than I expected, but can I use that training should the necessity arise?"

"Magnar isn't known to train non-Trust members," he said. "You must have said the right thing to him for him to change his mind."

"I can't imagine what that might have been."

"Did you enjoy it?"

"You mean, did I enjoy getting beat up by Magnar?" I asked. "No, I can't say that I did."

"Beat up... Why did he beat you up?"

"I had a fear of someone punching me in the face," I said. "Magnar told me that I needed to break that fear. It only took a few days, with a couple of bloody noses and a split lip or two for me to get the idea that not only could I take a punch, but that I could learn ways to avoid them, as I had with Elena. I had no problems with it after that."

"I would like to spar with you one day," said Cadmar.

"I like that about you. I end up in conversations that I've never had with anyone else. You're the only man I know who would tell me they want to spar with me. Not even David would do that. He's more of a marksman. If I wanted to compete with a pistol or talk about energy weapons, he'd be all over that."

A bit later, our food arrived along with the key card for the room I ordered. Its slipcase indicated Simon booked room number 400. He included a note for me tucked into the case, and it said he gave me a two-bedroom suite called the Regency Suite.

We had gotten about three-quarters through our meal when our company arrived. I answered the door, and the instant I did, I saw nothing but Sal wanting to hug me, his arms at the ready like a grizzly. I could sense an immense feeling of relief from him. For the second time, Cadmar and I would help Sal. His wife and child were in the vestibule, so I maneuvered Sal off to the side to let them enter the penthouse. When he finally let go of me, he hugged Cadmar.

"Hello," said his wife, pushing a stroller, "I'm Rebecca. I guess Sal knows you both."

Rebecca's accent was pure Texan. She seemed nervous and awkward. She had a bit of a weight issue, and she dressed in blue denim with a gray wool cardigan.

"Yes, my name is Richard, but you can call me Rick, and this is Cadmar. I'm not sure what Sal has told you, or has even had the opportunity to tell you, but give him time. He's been through a lot."

In a stroller sat their six-year-old daughter. She didn't look well. I squatted down. "Hello, I'm Rick, what's your name?"

"Gertrude," she said.

From the sound of her voice, I could hear that her nose was stuffy, and I noticed that her lungs were congested from the sound of her breathing. Her mother had her bundled so that only her face showed.

"I love your name," I said. "You sound like you have a cold. How are you feeling?"

"Sleepy," she said.

"She caught a cold just before they arrived," said Sal. "She has cystic fibrosis too, so it tends to make things worse."

"It's late; we need to get her ready for bed," said Rebecca.

I stood up. "I'm sorry to hear you've had all these problems." I retrieved the room key from the table and held it up. "This is a key to a two-bedroom suite, it's yours for as long as you like. Don't worry about the bill, I'll take care of that. The restaurant in the hotel has 24-hour room service; you'll find a menu in your room. Eat whatever you want or need and charge it all to the room every time. Don't worry about money, that's taken care of. In fact, if you need anything while you're here, let me know. I'll have it brought to you."

"Thank you, that's kind of you," said Rebecca.

I held out the key for her to take; I didn't let it go immediately. "We can cure Gertrude. I know that's a lot to take in."

"It's true, Becca, they can do it," said Sal.

"How?"

"The Foundational Enhancement," I said.

"But that's--"

"Not what you've been told it is, I can assure you of that. Why don't the three of you settle into the suite, put Gertrude to bed, discuss it, and get with us when you've made a decision."

They made to leave. "Good night, Gertrude," I said, "pleasant dreams."

"Thank you for the room," said Rebecca.

"You're more than welcome," I said. "Sal, we'll need to speak with you in the morning."

"I want to speak with you, too," he said. "Thank you for everything." He gave us a little smile and closed the door.

I leaned against the wall. "That poor little girl."

"What's cystic fibrosis?" asked Cadmar.

"It's a genetic condition where the body has --well-- several problems, but one creates excess mucus in the lungs, and it's deadly dangerous. By the sound of her voice with that cold, she's not well at all."

"How have they been treating it?"

"Let me give you an image," I said. "With her congestion, her mother will probably tip her downward and beat her on the back to break up the mucus for about 40 minutes, so Gertrude can cough up as much as she can before she puts her to bed."

"That sounds awful!"

"It's something that must be done regularly, even without the cold."

"Did you bring any nano-suspension?"

"Oh, yes," I said. "I'm exhausted. I need a shower and to sleep."

"What shall we do about our sleep arrangements?"

I moved to the balcony, where I had left the ship hovering. "We have no fruit 7H, so I don't think it matters. You can sleep wherever you feel comfortable. I don't mind."

Cadmar followed me to the balcony door while I dug into the ship's stowage. "The bed is for you and David," he said, "so I best sleep on the couch."

"That's fine," I said in weariness. I climbed from the ship with the nano-programming device from the medical kit and a canister of the nano-suspension. I closed the hatch and returned the ship to orbit. I watched it rise into the air wishing that it could take the sensation of having become beleaguered with worry along with it. I finally understood why David asked too much of himself.

With my little shower bag in hand, I entered the unattractive blue tiled bathroom, and I gazed down at the cracked floor tiles. It reminded me of the night David saved my life, and our first night together. Having David as my mate changed me and my life. I hadn't just accepted his love; I accepted his world and with that came a new understanding of my existence on Earth, and it opened my eyes. David hadn't just saved me, I learned exactly from what he had saved me, but before, I was just the fish who couldn't comprehend the waters in which he swam.

I wanted the water to wash away my doubts and leave me with nothing but hopes. And there it was again, bloody hope. When I realized where my circumstances had brought me, I started crying, and I couldn't quit. The water both hid my tears and amplified them. Was I really crying so much? Behind me, the shower door opened, and I spun around toward it.

"Cadmar...," I said.

He stood there fully dressed, and he shook his head. "I'm just a human."

He stepped into the shower, and I pulled him to me. He held me for the longest time, and the tears wouldn't stop, but then neither would the doubts that I wanted no part of.